Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know. Jeremiah 33:3 (NKJV)

Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart. Jeremiah 29:12,13 (NKJV)

Last week I had some amazing and deep times of prayer. I had a prayer burden for requests both known and unknown. That’s one of the best parts of meeting with God – He knows our deepest needs and concerns, and hears the cry of our heart, even before we ask. But He WANTS us to ask! He wants us to seek Him, wait on Him, abide in His presence and draw life, strength, and hope from simply being near Him. But even when we don’t know how to express what’s weighing upon us, our humbleness in coming before the throne of Almighty God, and placing ourselves at His feet, touches His heart. He longs for that precious communion between us. He is eagerly waiting to respond to our sincere, and even desperate pleas.

I was SO blessed by the answers to specific prayers that came. These were things I had prayed about many times before, but in that time of crying out to Him, earnestly seeking Him, He poured out abundant answers…in very specific ways. It would seem that the “prayer bowls of heaven” were tipped and the blessings rained down! I couldn’t help but be amazed at the way He heard my cry, and, in doing so, strengthened and encouraged my faith.

I just want to encourage YOU to keep spending time with the One who is able to do “exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think.” (Ephesians 3:20)

Come to Him with every concern, every burden, every question, every need, and especially with a heart that longs to know Him more. To become closer to the God who loves and cares for you. To be filled up from the living well of Salvation. To be assured of His faithfulness and goodness.

He most certainly hears every simple prayer. But He also desires that we offer up our time and earnest effort in seeking Him. We are told repeatedly in the Word to “wait on the Lord”. Waiting = time. Waiting = hungering for God. Waiting = consistently offering up ourselves to Him.

As the verse near the beginning says, we will find Him when we search for Him WITH ALL OUR HEART. It is an eternal investment that has guaranteed returns. It is worth every moment we surrender. God eagerly waits to extend His sovereign hand, and to “show himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward Him.” (2 Chron. 16:9)

So, be encouraged. Be faithful. Be persistent. And put your trust and confidence in the God who hears and answers.

This song expresses what I’ve been experiencing of late. The deep need for more of God, and my awareness of my complete dependence on Hm.

https://soundcloud.com/cyndiaar/where-the-living-water-flows

So the recurring theme that’s been speaking to my heart and life the last couple weeks has been “delighting in God”, desiring His presence and the power and blessing that comes with waiting on God. I’ve read it in various devotions, in the Word and felt its impact on my personal prayer times. His presence really IS the place to be – do dwell, to abide. NOTHING is more vital to our spiritual walk than a consistent time of seeking God in His word, in prayer and in quiet waiting before Him.

Lately I’ve been working on some small wooden scroll-saw projects for Christmas gifts. It’s a time consuming process, depending on how much detail is involved in the pattern. Usually, I trace the design onto the wood using carbon paper. Then small holes have to be drilled in all the places that have to be cut out. In each of those tiny openings, a thin sawblade is inserted and the required cuts are carefully made.

If there ever was a time to pray...it's now. More than ever, we need to seek God, to call upon His name, to draw close to Him, to bring the countless needs and petitions to Him, and to spend time in His presence, drawing upon the endless resources available to those who wait on Him.

So, we recently had an eventful week. Our younger son had his lower leg broken during a high school football game, bringing his season to a disappointing, (and painful!) end. He’s been quite stoic about it all, but for an athletic 16 year-old, being hampered by a cast for 6 weeks isn’t exactly an enjoyable experience! Combine that with his recently graduated older brother moving away from home to venture out into the work force.

Life is unpredictable. So many unknowns. So many unexpected twists and turns in the road. Times of amazing joy. Times of deep distress and sorrow. Times of routine and times of spontaneity. Plans get made, but often they don't turn out quite the way we anticipate. Sometimes they do, but more often than not, we face circumstances that we hadn't planned on dealing with. These past few weeks have demonstrated that to me anew.

Harvest. The fruition of much effort and time. The end result of what is planted - in hopes of much return. It's the beginnings of harvest here in our area. Hay is cut and bales are being made. Beans and peas are being picked and frozen. Berries are out in abundance, ready for picking, eating and being processed into jam or syrup.

This past weekend we went on a short hiking excursion, and once again witnessed the awesome beauty and majesty of the Rocky Mountain landscape. Although this wasn't a backpacking trip this time, and only lasted two days, we still had to do the hard work of ascending the trails and scrambling up the steep slope. It was challenging - requiring some endurance, strength, determination, and hope!

About a week ago (while we were away at Church Camp), we had a crazy storm hit our little rural community. "Plough winds", along with heavy rain and some hail hit us hard, and left a trail of uprooted trees, a few overturned granaries, and a power outage due to trees falling on power lines. Our backyard play structure was "canopied" with large fallen trees, making it a true jungle gym! Branches and leaves covered our property, and trees blocked roads throughout the area.